Kelty Sparks 1928 copy (From Richard Flint)

Kelty Sparks 1928 copy, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. Buckles, A few days ago you showed a formal Sparks group shot taken from the sidelines, so to speak. Here is the actual photo that Edward Kelty took in Rockaway, NY, on Long Island, June 8, 1928. Bill Galloway thought there were a lot of ladies in the photo but the count is about 27 women to 86 men. There was no route book that year but the 1927 book lists about 575 names so we see 20% of the show's employees in the picture here—probably all of the performers and bands (including the side show) and some of the business staff and department heads. However, a number of names are listed twice in the 1927 route book as people might hold two positions (Walter McClain is listed both as Supt of Elephants and as a performer) and certainly some of the names didn't make the full season. Charles Sparks is not in the picture (this was to be his last year as owner) but I think that his step-brother and assistant manager Clifton is in the front row just to the right of the gentleman behind clown cop Joe Lewis. Paul Wenzel, incidentally, is probably the clown with upraised arms on the left side of this 12x20 inch photo. Another individual recently discussed on this blog who should appear in the photo is Chubby Gilfoyle but if it was 1928 in Syracuse that he lost his arm, then he may not be in this photo taken only a few weeks later. Other group shots of the Sparks show I have for its last years all show similar numbers of people behind the same two parade wagons (the well-known Dancing Girls here on the left and Dolphin on the right). Kelty shots showing ALL employees are unusual (one each for Cole and Ringling come to mind) except for the smallest of shows that might have gathered the entire clan just to keep from looking too tiny. Probably only on Ringling were so many of the departments photographed individually since it was such a large show. Actually, this photo shows about the same number of performers (taking out the staff seen here in suits and ties) as the two major Ringling units carry today. And if you subtract workingmen for the tents from the 575 figure cited above, the total carried on each show might be similar! Sparks, however, moved on 20 typically tightly-loaded cars in 1928. Dick Flint Baltimore